VIDEO: What does it take to be an airline pilot?

08 September, 2017

SOURCE: FlightGlobal.com

What does it take to be an airline pilot? Ambition, certainly. Aptitude, without a doubt. An ability to work as part of a team, of course. And, for many aspiring aviators, an awful lot of cash. To qualify to fly an airliner can mean shelling out a six-figure dollar sum.

In a special FlightGlobal video debate, David Learmount, former operations and safety editor for Flight International and an expert in pilot training, joins veteran training leader Anthony Petteford of L3 Commercial Training Solutions, and FlightGlobal’s Murdo Morrison to discuss the opportunities and challenges of embarking on a cockpit career. They also ask whether, with more than 600,000 airline pilots needed by a fast-growing airline sector over the next 20 years, the industry is doing enough to recruit and train the talent, especially when it comes to the large fees involved in paying for training courses.

In this excerpt, Learmount describes the qualities a would-be airline pilot needs and why it remains the job with the best office view.